The present invention relates to a system and method of communicating data from network isolated devices to remote devices connected to communication networks.
The wide-spread deployment of various wireless communication technologies has vastly increased the network accessibility of remote devices, thus improving communication coverage and information access. For example, various short and long-range wireless communication technologies enable remote devices to communicate and share information. Despite the rapid expansion of wireless network coverage, the location of some devices still prevents the devices from gaining access to a network, e.g., through a network access point. Such network isolated devices, i.e., devices whose location prevents direct access to communication networks may lack direct network connectivity for various reasons, e.g., poor line of sight, lack of network coverage, shielding, weak signal strength, distance, reception sensitivity, multi-path or null points, etc.
As devices become more ‘intelligent’, e.g., by having various computer and electronic components included in them, there becomes an increasing need to access, monitor and communicate with network isolated devices. For example, designers and/or operators of intelligent devices located in network isolated areas may want to verify proper device operation, upgrade software code, access data generated by such devices, and transfer data to such devices. Of particular interest to device designers and/or operators may be telemetry data generated by network isolated devices, e.g., information relating to device operating conditions or consumer behavior.
Some network topologies, e.g., mesh-based networks, have expanded wireless network coverage by routing information such as data, voice and instructions between network nodes. Mesh networking maintains continuous connections, thus reconfiguring around blocked paths by “hopping” from node-to-node until a connection can be established. As such, a mesh network remains operational even when a node breaks down or a connection is terminated. Mesh and other similar network topologies utilize knowledge of preexisting nodes to establish signal routing paths. That is, nodes must be known to a mesh network in order for that node to be configured as part of the mesh. In addition, data is dynamically routed between nodes in a mesh network as data is received and while the nodes remain connected to the mesh. Further, isolated nodes such as unknown nodes, disconnected nodes or nodes outside the signal range of a mesh network are isolated from the corresponding mesh network. As such, network isolated devices are communicatively isolated from mesh and other similar network topologies.